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Arab–Khazar Wars
The Arab–Khazar wars were a series of conflicts fought between the Khazar Khaganate and successive Arab caliphates in the Caucasus region from to 799 CE. Smaller native principalities were also involved in the conflict as vassals of the two empires. Historians usually distinguish two major periods of conflict, the First Arab–Khazar War () and Second Arab–Khazar War (); the wars also involved sporadic raids and isolated clashes from the mid-seventh century to the end of the eighth century. The wars were a result of attempts by the nascent Rashidun Caliphate to secure control of the South Caucasus (Transcaucasia) and North Caucasus, where the Khazars had already been established since the late 6th century. The first Arab invasion began in 642 with the capture of the strategically important city of Derbent that guarded the eastern passage of the Caucasus along the Caspian Sea, and continued with a series of minor raids, ending with the defeat of a large Arab force led by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Early Muslim Conquests
The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests (), also known as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the founder of Islam. He established the first Islamic state in Medina, Arabian Peninsula, Arabia that expanded rapidly under the Rashidun Caliphate and the Umayyad Caliphate, culminating in Muslim rule being established on three continents (Asia, Africa, and Europe) over the next century. According to historian James Buchan: "In speed and extent, the first Arab conquests were matched only by those of Alexander the Great, and they were more lasting." At their height, the territory that was conquered by the Arab Muslims stretched from Iberian Peninsula, Iberia (at the Pyrenees) in the west to Indian subcontinent, India (at Sind (caliphal province), Sind) in the east; Muslim control spanned Sicily, most of the Middle East and North Africa, and the Caucasus and Central Asia. Among other drastic changes, the early Muslim conquests brought about ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barjik
Barjik (died 731/732) was a Khazar prince who flourished in the early 8th century, he was the commander of Khazar armies during Arab–Khazar wars. Dunlop and Blankinship argue that he might have been the ''khagan'' mentioned in the Arabic sources leading the battles against the Arab armies while al-Tabari claims that he was "the son of the Khagan"; his exact status and position is unknown though he may have been the Khagan or Khagan Bek. Career Barjik first appears in 713/714 as part of the Khazar army in Arab sources, in which Maslama led an expedition which captured Derbent after a short siege, reportedly after a resident showed him a secret underground passage. The Armenian historian Łewond claims that the Arabs, realizing that they could not hold the fortress, destroyed its walls. Maslama then drove deeper into Khazar territory. The Khazar ''khagan'' (possibly Barjik) confronted the Arabs at the city of Tarku but, apart from a series of single combats by champions, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Ardabil
The Battle of Marj Ardabil or the Battle of Ardabil was fought on the plains surrounding the city of Ardabil in northwestern Iran in AD 730. A Khazar army led by Barjik, the son of the Khazar khagan, invaded the Umayyad provinces of Jibal and Iranian Azerbaijan in retaliation for Caliphate attacks on Khazaria during the course of the decades-long Khazar-Arab War of the early 8th century. Barjik's expedition into northern Iran (and later into Kurdistan and northern Mesopotamia) may have been an attempt to establish Khazar rule south of the Caucasus Mountains. An outnumbered force led by the Umayyad general al-Jarrah ibn Abdallah engaged the Khazars for three days. Ultimately, abandoned by many of their ''mawali'' auxiliaries, the Caliph's forces were overwhelmed and defeated. During the course of the battle, al-Jarrah was killed. The victorious Barjik mounted his head on top of the throne from which he commanded the battles of his Middle Eastern campaign. According to the histo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caucasus Mountains
The Caucasus Mountains * * Azerbaijani: , * * * * * * * * * * * is a mountain range at the intersection of Asia and Europe. Stretching between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, they are surrounded by the Caucasus region and are home to Mount Elbrus, the highest peak in Europe at above sea level. The Caucasus Mountains include the Greater Caucasus in the north and the Lesser Caucasus in the south. The Greater Caucasus runs west-northwest to east-southeast, from the Western Caucasus on the northeastern shore of the Black Sea to close to Baku on the Caspian Sea, in Azerbaijan. The Lesser Caucasus runs parallel to the Greater about south. The Greater and Lesser Caucasus ranges are connected by the Likhi Range, and to the west and east of the Likhi Range lie the Colchis Plain and the Kur-Araz Lowland respectively. The Meskheti Range is a part of the Lesser Caucasus system. In the southeast, the Aras River separates the Lesser Caucasus from the Tal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Caucasian Huns
The Khuni, Huni or Chuni were a people of the North Caucasus during late antiquity. They have sometimes been referred to as the North Caucasian Huns and are often assumed to be related to the Huns who later entered Eastern Europe. However, the ethnolinguistic and geographical origins of the Khuni are unclear. The first contemporaneous reference to the Khuni may be by Dionysius Periegetes and Claudius Ptolemy's Geography, in the 2nd century CE, when they are said to be living near the Caspian Sea. According to Agathangelos, there were Huns living among the peoples of the Caucasus in 227. In 535 or 537, an Armenian missionary team headed by the bishop Kardost baptized many of the North Caucasian Huns. The Syriac source reporting this event also indicates that a writing system for Hunnic was developed. Huns are said to have established a polity in Daghestan in the 6th century CE. This may have incorporated numerous indigenous Caucasian peoples. In 682 Bishop Israel of Ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balanjar
Balanjar (''Baranjar'', ''Belenjer'', ''Belendzher'', ''Bülünjar'') was a medieval city located in the North Caucasus region, between the cities of Derbent and Samandar (city), Samandar, probably on the lower Sulak River. It flourished between the seventh and tenth centuries. The legendary founder of Balanjar, according to the Persian and Kurdish chroniclers Ibn al-Faqih and Abu al-Fida, was named Balanjar ibn Yafith. History In the 630s Balanjar was a capital of the Baranjars, Baranjar state. Some scholars speculate that the name derives from the Turkic root "Bala" or "Great", and the clan-name "Endzhar". With the rest of the Baranjar domains the city became part of the Khazar Khaganate around 650; until the early 720s, Balanjar served as the capital of Khazaria. During the First Arab-Khazar War in the 650s, a Muslim army under Abd ar-Rahman ibn Rabiah was defeated outside the town (see Battle of Balanjar (650s), Battle of Balanjar). Around 722 or 723, Umayyad soldiers under A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia, south of the fertile plains of Southern Russia in Eastern Europe, and north of the mountainous Iranian Plateau. It covers a surface area of (excluding the highly saline lagoon of Garabogazköl to its east), an area approximately equal to that of Japan, with a volume of . It has a salinity of approximately 1.2% (12 g/L), about a third of the salinity of average seawater. It is bounded by Kazakhstan to the northeast, Russia to the northwest, Azerbaijan to the southwest, Iran to the south, and Turkmenistan to the southeast. The name of the Caspian Sea is derived from the ancient Iranian peoples, Iranic Caspians, Caspi people. The sea stretches from north to south, with an average width of . Its gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caliphate
A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of the entire Muslim world (''ummah''). Historically, the caliphates were polities based on Islam which developed into multi-ethnic trans-national empires. During the medieval period, three major caliphates succeeded each other: the Rashidun Caliphate (632–661), the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750), and the Abbasid Caliphate (750–1517). In the fourth major caliphate, the Ottoman Caliphate, the rulers of the Ottoman Empire claimed caliphal authority from 1517 until the Ottoman caliphate was Abolition of the Caliphate, formally abolished as part of the Atatürk's reforms, 1924 secularisation of Turkey. An attempt to preserve the title was tried, with the Sharifian Caliphate, but this caliphate fell quickly after its conquest by the Sultanate o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bulchan
Bulchan (Bulčan) or Bluchan (Blučan) was, according to Georgian chronicles, a Khazar general around the year 800 CE. According to the Georgian sources, Bulchan led the Khazar army in its capture of Tbilisi. As part of the surrender terms a Georgian princess named Shushan was supposed to accompany Bulchan back to the khagan Khagan or Qaghan (Middle Mongol:; or ''Khagan''; ) or zh, c=大汗, p=Dàhán; ''Khāqān'', alternatively spelled Kağan, Kagan, Khaghan, Kaghan, Khakan, Khakhan, Khaqan, Xagahn, Qaghan, Chagan, Қан, or Kha'an is a title of empire, im ...'s court and marry the Khazar ruler, but the girl killed herself instead. When he returned home with the news, the hapless Bulchan was killed by the khagan in a fit of rage. The connection between Bulchan and Bulan, if any, is unknown; Peter B. Golden has commented on the common etymological roots of the two names.Golden ____. Notes Sources *Golden, Peter. ''Khazar Studies: An Historio-Philological Inquiry i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ras Tarkhan
Ras Tarkhan was a Khazar general of the mid 8th century, sometimes referred to as ''As Tarkhan'', who led an invasion of Abbasid territories in Armenia, Caucasian Albania and northwestern Persia. He defeated the Arabs in the Battle of Shirvan and ensur the dominance of the Khazar Khanate in the Caucasus, and this battle was the end of the Khazar-Arab Wars. Scholars have debated over whether Ras Tarkhan is a name or a title. ''As Tarkhan'', used as a title, would mean "general of the Alans", possibly indicating a role as commander of Alan mercenaries or auxiliaries. According to Zeki Validi Togan and Peter Benjamin Golden Peter Benjamin Golden (born 1941) is an American professor emeritus of History, Turkish and Middle Eastern Studies at Rutgers University. He has written many books and articles on Turkic peoples, Turkic and Central Asian studies, such as ''An int ..., Ras Tarkhan came from a clan called Khatiriltber. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tarkhan, Ras Khazar generals 8th-century ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hazer Tarkhan
Hazer Tarkhan was a general (tarkhan is both a military rank and, in some cases, a personal name) who led a Khazar army of 40,000 men to confront Marwan II during Arab-Khazar Wars in 737 CE. After Barjik's death, the Khazar defense instantly collapsed. Alp Tarkhan managed to defeat Maslama, but he was replaced by future caliph Marwan II who defeated Alp Tarkhan who was slained in the battle. Khagan, probably Bihar or Baghatur, left an army in the capital and retreated north. Marwan, despite great difficulties, bypassed the capital and marched directly into lands of Bolghars, vassals of Khazars, trying to find the Khagan. On his way he encountered a Burtasid army and defeated them. Throughout the whole time, he was being chased by Hazer Tarkhan. At one point, Hazer Tarkhan separated himself from the main army with a group of soldiers to do hunting near a river. He was ambushed and killed by Kawthar, the lieutenant of Marwan ibn Muhammad (later Caliph Marwan II Marwan ibn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tar'mach
Tar'mach was a Khazar general, active in the Arab–Khazar Wars of the 720s and 730s CE. He was sent by Parsbit to invade Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ... in 730. Sources * Golden, Peter B. ''Khazar Studies: An Historico-Philological Inquiry into the Origins of the Khazars.'' Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1980. Khazar generals 8th-century generals People of the Arab–Khazar wars 730s in the Umayyad Caliphate {{Asia-mil-bio-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
